Finding the right university is a task that takes a lot of effort and time. One factor that does influence your decision is the tuition fee. One other factor that must be taken into account but is not given as much priority is accreditation.

This is an award given to institutes that are considered to be of higher learning. This is doled out by external groups who are completely independent of the colleges in question. They ensure that the college is giving quality education and keeping up all the promises that were made to the students.

Factors that count when it comes to accreditation

• Job opportunities the degree brings to students in the field.

This and several other aspects irrelevant of how small they may seem are taken into consideration before the accreditation is awarded. The process is the same for online universities as well. There are two types of accreditation that are given. You have nationally and regionally accredited online universities. The accreditation is also reaffirmed at regular intervals of time.

This is one of the reasons you need to make sure that you enroll in a regionally accredited online university. It is simply an assurance that the quality of education is good and the degree is of high value.

Standards of regionally accredited online universities
There is a very high regard for standards with the regionally accredited universities as they go through review regularly and are expected to be consistent. In fact, standards are considered to be a matter of pride. The standards of these universities are set in stone and only when a university meets these standards is it considered accredited.

One criterion is that one-third of the curriculum in the program needs to include natural, social, and physical sciences. Apart from that, math, English, humanitie, and art must also be a part of their programs.

Regionally accredited online universities only take in transfers from other regionally accredited online universities.

Who gives the accreditations?
There are 6 regional institutions across the country that have the power to grant the accreditations. Each of them has certain rules that they abide by. Only if the university in question meets all of these qualifications will the accreditors approve of them.

These are a few things that will be useful when you set out to enroll yourself in an online course.